***Official*** Pakistan and England in UAE

[Black_Warrior]

If Panesar comes in the next test. Pakistan are surely going to struggle.
He has a tremendous record against Pakistan and I am sure he will be willing to prove his worth next test.

Credit goes to Ajmal and Abdur Rahman for their impressive spin bowling in both innings enabling Pakistan to dominate throughout the days.
My concern begin with the Batting lineup. We have the most inconsistent batting line-up in the world (I fear India is taking us over).
Batsmen Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul-haq are too alike. When any of them is at crease, the runrate decreases to 2/per over which is one of the main reason Pakistan is not able to pressurize the opposition even when in command.
For instance, David Warners innings is a great example of the pressure one can create while being aggressive.
Thus, in my opinion, Umar Akmal deserves the nod ahead of Asad Shafiq and he needs to come in before Misbah-ul-haq or Azhar Ali otherwise, it is just wasting his talent.

The second concern is the bowling department where atleast one of the bowlers warming the bench needs to play either that be Junaid Khan or Wahab Riaz.
lets assume Ajmal not clicking the next game, what do we have as a backup plan? An inconsistent pacer, Umar Gul?.
In my opinion, Riaz is a better option as a backup plan. He has that extra speed and reverse swing which is helpful in breaking partnerships or cleaning up the tail if the spinners fail. Aizaz Cheema has not done anything wrong but we have better options..


If these changes do not occur and the English team prepares well. I am sorry but Pakistan won't be as lucky as they have been this test.

Excellent points those..I wish Misbah was listening to you.

I have now changed my stance on Umar Akmal..mainly because of Misbah's dire batting..Pakistan needs someone to compensate for 22 in 100 balls.

The point you make about Ajmal is absolutely true. Ajmal was awesome but you cannot hope to beat the best team in the world by depending on one bowler. None of the other bowlers have looked threatening. Even Cook's wicket was very lucky today..so was Trott's.

Personally I would play either Riaz or Khan instead of Rehman. I feel bad dropping Cheema because he has done nothing wrong and was a tad unlucky.

 

[Woodster]

Is Cheema injured?

Funnily Gul's best wicket was the no-ball that got Swann.

He went off during one of his overs with what looked like a hamstring niggle. He did return and bowled again but may have to doubt whether he'll be fully fit enough to be trusted with the next Test coming so soon.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

In that case, would like to see Junaid in the next match.

 

[Z-Man]

Excellent points those..I wish Misbah was listening to you.

I have now changed my stance on Umar Akmal..mainly because of Misbah's dire batting..Pakistan needs someone to compensate for 22 in 100 balls.

The point you make about Ajmal is absolutely true. Ajmal was awesome but you cannot hope to beat the best team in the world by depending on one bowler. None of the other bowlers have looked threatening. Even Cook's wicket was very lucky today..so was Trott's.

Personally I would play either Riaz or Khan instead of Rehman. I feel bad dropping Cheema because he has done nothing wrong and was a tad unlucky.

I do feel bad for Cheema and like I said I would have given him the nod ahead of Gul had Gul not performed today.
You can also not drop Abdur Rahman for his excellent support to Ajmal. I read a stat somewhere (Probably Pakpassion ) that Ajmal averages below 26 with Abdur Rahman and above 35 without him.
So, imo, that is never going to happen. Even Ajmal won't like AR to be dropped since a spinner always likes a spinner at the other end and moreover, with different bowling actions i.e left hand, right hand combination which disturbs batsmen.

 

[salman85]

Excellent stuff by Pakistan.And Kudos to Misbah.He's leading the team superbly.It's not flashy,it's not the same flamboyant Pakistan of old,but it's mighty effective and that's what matters.Great stuff.

This was brilliant from cricinfo "Only in the closing overs of their bowling triumph did Pakistan's players show the excitable tendencies more associated with their cricket and when they did, the seasoned captain who has restored discipline, Misbah-ul-Haq, restored order with the stony expression of a Russian president surveying the march past of the troops from a wintry Moscow balcony"

 

[Z-Man]

Had you asked question of Junaid or Riaz a months ago, I would have preferred the former but at the moment I believe Riaz is fired up due to his latest controversy (He took a couple of five wicket hauls in domestic) and he would be willing to come in and throw the bullet in his hand
Moreover, you have enough supportive/containing bowlers in the team. You need someone with Ajmal and that is Riaz who may concede runs but may well get wickets through his sheer pace.

 

[Z-Man]

Oh and that is also why I believe Steven Finn should be ahead of Tremlett.

 

[Z-Man]

Excellent stuff by Pakistan.And Kudos to Misbah.He's leading the team superbly.It's not flashy,it's not the same flamboyant Pakistan of old,but it's mighty effective and that's what matters.Great stuff.

This was brilliant from cricinfo "Only in the closing overs of their bowling triumph did Pakistan's players show the excitable tendencies more associated with their cricket and when they did, the seasoned captain who has restored discipline, Misbah-ul-Haq, restored order with the stony expression of a Russian president surveying the march past of the troops from a wintry Moscow balcony"

 

[Furball]

I do feel bad for Cheema and like I said I would have given him the nod ahead of Gul had Gul not performed today.
You can also not drop Abdur Rahman for his excellent support to Ajmal. I read a stat somewhere (Probably Pakpassion ) that Ajmal averages below 26 with Abdur Rahman and above 35 without him.
So, imo, that is never going to happen. Even Ajmal won't like AR to be dropped since a spinner always likes a spinner at the other end and moreover, with different bowling actions i.e left hand, right hand combination which disturbs batsmen.

How much can you read into a stat like that?

Perhaps Ajmal has improved as a Test bowler, or when he's playing with Rehman he's generally playing on more spin-friendly decks.

 

[Z-Man]

How much can you read into a stat like that?

Perhaps Ajmal has improved as a Test bowler, or when he's playing with Rehman he's generally playing on more spin-friendly decks.

Because I think I follow Pakistan matches more than you

 

[sledger]

lol

 

[honestbharani]

Not really; the solution to being bowled out twice cheaply isn't to drop a batsman.

It is.. When that 6th batsman is adding a lot less value to your side than the 5th bowler would.

 

[sledger]

No, just pick a different batsman.

 

[GIMH]

The bowlers did a good job though

 

[honestbharani]

No, just pick a different batsman.

Sorry.. Just don't think Bopara is the answer. As I said, I would rather go with the second spinner than an at-best-average 6th batsman..

 

[sledger]

Sorry.. Just don't think Bopara is the answer. As I said, I would rather go with the second spinner than an at-best-average 6th batsman..

Neither do I, he's crap. But adding another bowler to a team whose attack is already performing well is unlikely to improve the state of the batting, which is the problem area at the moment. Having 5 bowlers would not have improved England's chances of winning this match. Had just one batsman made a century, it may well have.

 

[honestbharani]

Neither do I, he's crap. But adding another bowler to a team whose attack is already performing well is unlikely to improve the state of the batting, which is the problem area at the moment. Having 5 bowlers would not have improved England's chances of winning this match. Had just one batsman made a century, it may well have.

yes, but that one batsman isn't likely to be whoever is batting at 6, because I think both guys are not good enough for this level. There is more chance that Broad+Swann would score more than whatever the 6th guy would score and you get an extra spin option which might help them attack Pakistan's weak area, which is their batting. As I said, it is a simple choice for me given how bad Morgan and Bopara seem to be at the test level.

 

[Pothas]

Neither Morgan or Bopara are good but neither are they totally incapable of scoring runs, the basic premise of your argument still makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Ikki]

This was almost as good as watching the Indians get shellacked. Well done Pakistan!

 

[honestbharani]

Neither Morgan or Bopara are good but neither are they totally incapable of scoring runs, the basic premise of your argument still makes no sense whatsoever.

The basic premise is that when you got a batsman whom you really do not expect to score a 100 or a 50 in this form, might as well replace him with a bowler who might get you a 3/50 and help you bowl out the opposition for much lesser than what they may otherwise make. Is Panesar providing you more as a bowler than a Morgan/Bopara as a batsman? I think the answer is yes and that is why I would pick him.